It took some time, but motherboard makers and case manufacturers have finally wised up to the concept of never having enough USB ports. It's not uncommon to see motherboards equipped with 8 USB ports, and it would take six of said motherboards to still not equal the number of ports on the 49-port Professional USB-2 Hub.

The mega-hub supports the USB 2.0 specification and includes a "separate transaction translator for every port." Each port independently comes with its own Vbus current limit, and multiple rail regulators and localized clock generators keep errant signals from mucking with data transfers.

"We engineered this professional-grade product for dependability and performance first, aimed squarely at the business user - not as a cost-driven commercial product," UK developer Cambrionix stated on the USB hub's product page.

Even still, we could see this filling a niche in the power user segment, though probably not at the £399 (about $660 USD) asking price. Can anyone else imagine stuffing the entire line of Transformers USB keys into this?

Last month, Asus shipped its first ever Eee PC netbook to integrate a Super-Multi optical disc drive, a trend which still hasn't caught on full-force. The Eee PC notwithstanding, if you must have a DVD drive with your optical-less netbook, one solution is to buy an external drive, but Century may have a better idea. The company plans to release a netbook stand with a built-in Panasonic DVD drive.

The stand/DVD drive measures 260 x 190 x 19mm and weighs 52g. It supports DVD±R/+RW (8x), DVD±R DL/-RW (6x), DVD-RAM (5x) and CD-R/-RW (24x), and comes with two USB 2.0 ports for good measure. Also included is a small 4cm cooling fan. And according to a rough translation of Century's product page, the stand also looks to incorporate a 2.5-inch bay for a SATA-based HDD or SDD.

Century's multi-functional stand will be available in Japan starting this Friday for $100, CrunchGear reports.

Keeping the likes of Razer and OCZ on their respective toes, Microsoft today added to its gaming mouse lineup with the addition of the Sidewinder X3, an entry-level rodent that won't chew through your wallet. Sporting an ambidextrous design, Microsoft's latest Sidewinder looks to sway budget gamers with a respectable feature-set, including a 2,000 DPI laser with on-the-fly sensitivity switching.

"Our research shows that in-game comfort continues to be the main consideration for PC gamers," said Bill Jukes, product marketing manager for Microsoft Hardware. "We designed this mouse to be ambidextrous and small in size, providing comfort to a wider variety of people and making it ideal for gaming as well as everyday use."

The Sidewinder X3 also comes with five programmable buttons (eight buttons in all), a wide, detented scroll wheel, and wide-glide feet "for smooth handling and a light, balanced feel."

We've already posted one of the coolest case mods you'll ever see (check it out here), and moving to the complete opposite end of the spectrum (who are we kidding, this one's not even on the spectrum), is the tackiest mouse you'll never own. Or at least we hope you never do.

The Gold Bullion Wireless Mouse has so much wrong with it, it's tough knowing where to start. Should we point out that it's not real gold? How about we start by talking about the horrific rectangular design which, while meant to resemble a gold bullion, screams in the face of ergonomics and usability? Maybe we should point out the lack of additional buttons beyond the standard right and left click. Or we could go for the obvious and discuss how absurdly tacky it is, right down to its description as a "great big bling thing!" Screw it, you're on your own in deciding where to start faulting this peripheral.

Of absolutely no interest to anyone, anywhere, the Gold Bullion Wireless Mouse is available for pre-order through www.iwantoneofthose.com (how's that for irony?) for around $35.

Does the placement of the mouse laser matter? Japan-based Elecom seems to think so and has come up with a new mouse the company claims is "like you're holding a pen."

Dubbed the Scope Node Mouse, the new rodent places the 1600 DPI laser off-center so that it sits to left, just like the tip of a pen would sit. The beneift of doing so, says Elecom, is greater accuracy.

"The Scope Node is also characterized by its laser sensor position aligned to that of the pen tip, so that the sensor's high-resolution performance (1,600 dpi) can be accurately represented on the screen," Elecom wrote in a press release. "In short, you can use 'a PC monitor and a mouse' just like 'a piece of paper and a pen' because you can use the mouse just 'like you're holding a pen!' for writing or drawing.

Other than the off-center laser, the Scope Node retains the same general shape of a conventional mouse, albeit a bit futuristic looking. It comes with three buttons, "optimal weight balance," and a higher recognition rate than that of a conventional LED optical mouse, the company claims.

OCZ has been on a mission to undercut the competition in the peripheral gaming market and has released a pair of gaming mice this week towards that goal. The company says its new Behemoth and Eclipse mice are "built with the hardcore gamer in mind" looking for an inexpensive gaming solution.

"OCZ continues to break barriers in the cost for performance arena by offering high performance gaming products that deliver exceptional features, ergonomics, and performance at an aggressive price," commented Ryan Edwards, Director of Product Management for OCZ. "The new Behemoth and Eclipse gaming mice are no exception, offering world-class performance designed to provide the discerning gamer and enthusiast with a superior hands-on control experience whether playing first person shooters or getting creative with design applications."

Both the Eclipse and Behemoth come with a 2-way scrolling wheel, adjustable weight (up to 18g on the Eclipse and 24g on the Behemoth), 4-way changing LED display, black rubberized coating for a no-slip grip, 60IPS tracking speed, and 50G acceleration. The compact-style Eclipse sports an adjustable DPI up to 2400, whereas the larger Behemoth ramps up to 3200.

If the way you swept your girlfriend off her feet was by showing her your crazy high 3DMark06 score and boasting about your badass overclock with exotic cooling, then perhaps Metadot's latest promotion is right up your alley.

Metadot, the maker of the Das Keyboard, is running a "Buy One, Get One Half-Off for your Sweetheart" Valentine's sale. The promotion runs from Saturday, February 7th until 3:00 PM EST Thursday, February 12th and includes free ground shipping. However, to guarantee delivery on or before Valentine's Day, you'll need to place your order before 4:00 PM EST on February 9th, Metadot says. If you've already purchased either model between July 14, 2008 and February 6, 2009, Metadot says existing customers should refer to an email notification detailing a "Valentine's Appreciation Offer."

Made famous for its label-less design, Metadot recently refreshed its Das Keyboard lineup with two new redesigned models, the Professional (labeled keys) and Ultimate (blank plank). Mechanical gold-plated key switches contribute to the audible key clicks and tactile feedback, and an n-key rollover function allows up to 12 keys to be pressed simultaneously.

The number of available OLED keyboards has just doubled with the release of the United Keys OLED Display Keyboard. Unlike the Optimus Maximus, United Keys' plank doesn't sport a fancy name or boast 16-bit color support, nor does it cost a small fortune. What you do get are nine monochrome OLED display keys slapped onto an otherwise standard keyboard.

The USB-powered keyboard measures about 20.5 inches long by 7.25 inches wide and emits a blue glow on each side. Each of the 64 x 64 resolution OLED keys can be mapped to a command and customized with an image (.png) or text, and the included software, which is pre-loaded in flash memory, works on both Windows XP and Vista.

For those unwilling to give up their favorite plank, United Keys also offers a separate nine-key OLED keypad with the same feature-set for $60 less. Both the keyboard and keypad and manufactured by Foxconn and carry and 1-year warranty through United Keys.

The United Keys OLED keyboard and keypad are available now for $260 and $200 respectively.

It's hard to imagine, but the computer mouse celebrates its 40th birthday today, making the rodent susceptible to premature over the hill jokes. The one-button wooden mouse, which was built by Bill English, was first used by Douglas Engelbart on this day 40 years ago in a demonstration at the Fall Joint Computer Conference (FJCC). Dr. Engelbart showed how the new input device could be used to clip text files, copy and paste, and how it could come in handy on computer networks.

Many of the researchers behind the first demo are reuniting to celebrate the mouse's 40th anniversary. Among them will be Dr. Rulifson, who joined the group that Dr. Englebart assembled at the Stanford Reseearch Institute in California.

"I met Doug and got throroughly enchanted," Dr. Rulifson told the BBC. "I really understood what he was after. I was blown away by the ideas."

Forty years later and the computer market is overrun with rodents, although the mouse has evolved quite a bit from its one-button debut. Logitech alone has shipped over a billion mice found in over 100 countries, and should probably send English a 'thank-you' card.

Forty years ago Doug Engelbart gave the first ever public demonstration of the computer mouse. But it wasn't until 1985 that Logitech introduced its first retail rodent. Now, 23 years later, the peripheral maker says it has shipped its one billionth mouse, which is almost enough to accommodate every PC user in existence.

"Since the first click of the Logitech® P4 mouse in 1982, Logitech mice have played an indispensable role in the evolution of the personal computer,” said Gerald P. Quindlen, Logitech president and chief executive officer. “During the last few decades, the way people use computers has changed dramatically – what was once strictly a business tool has become highly integrated into our personal lives. Logitech has continually pursued innovations to meet those changing conditions, introducing – in the last five years alone – the world’s first laser mouse, hyper-fast scrolling and the nano-receiver."

As of this moment, Logitech mice scurry in over 100 countries around the globe and the company now produces 7.8 million mice each month. But getting to 2 billion might not be as easy. Desktop sales are down, and both notebooks (which sport trackpads) and touch screen interfaces could detract from the mouse market. Logitech also faces stiffer competition than it ever has before, with companies like Razer, OCZ, and several others all vying a piece of the peripheral pie.